Not only did Barack Obama win his ninth and tenth consecutive state caucus or primary yesterday — winning Wisconsin with 58 percent of the vote and Hawaii with about 75 percent — he also continues to cut into Hillary Clinton’s base. Obama evenly split the white women vote with Clinton in Wisconsin, and he had significant support among blue-collar voters. That doesn’t bode well for Clinton’s chances of winning Texas and Ohio by the landslide margins necessary to overtake Obama’s delegate lead.
Meanwhile, John McCain continued his march toward his inevitable nomination, winning easily in Wisconsin and Washington state.
“The results of Pakistan’s parliamentary vote are being billed as a repudiation not only of Pervez Musharraf, but also of President Bush, who has mostly supported the Pakistani strongman over the past seven years. We’re more inclined to see the elections as a vindication of both,†the Wall Street Journal wrote in an editorial today. How so? The editorial notes that Musharraf kept his word to resign as military leader and to hold free and fair elections, which these appear to have mostly been. And as far as the Bush administration, the editorial argues that “Monday’s election means that it can continue to transition from what is often described as a ‘Musharraf policy’ to a broader Pakistani one.â€
Call it an incentive. Call it bribery. Whatever, it’s a prime example of how a deep-pocket special interest can seek to bend the legislative process to its purpose while doing an end run around regulation: House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, announced Monday that Sunflower Electric Power Corp. had an understanding with Kansas State University to provide $2.5 million over 10 years for energy research — but only if lawmakers approve the permits for the two Holcomb coal-fired plants by June 1. House members complied Tuesday, though they fell short of the votes needed to override a veto by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
At least one lawmaker, state Rep. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, said the maneuver was inappropriate. “I think it’s in poor taste to dangle a contribution to a state university in front of the state Legislature on the eve of a debate on a major bill like this, and then to also say, ‘If you don’t pass the bill I want, we are not going to make this contribution,’†he said.
Anybody else feeling dirty?
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius released a statement taking on the Hillary Clinton campaign’s recent statements that Barack Obama’s wins in red states like Kansas aren’t important because those states won’t go Democratic in the general election.
“Sen. Clinton and her campaign surrogates keep deriding Sen. Obama’s wins in red states by saying that her victories in the ‘big states’ are the ones that matter,†Sebelius said. “The right Democrat, like Barack Obama, can carry red states, just like the 14 Democratic governors elected in states won by George Bush in 2004. We can’t tell people their votes don’t matter and then expect their support against John McCain in November. Sen. Obama is reaching to independents and Republicans because they desperately want to change our politics. I hope Sen. Clinton will follow his lead and stop dismissing Democrats that don’t live in New York or California.â€
She’s right — how is Clinton helping the party in the fall by insulting millions of voters and efforts to build the party base in red states? Strange strategy.
Michael Kinsley jokingly complained in a Time magazine commentary about the GOP’s ultimate dirty trick: picking a candidate Democrats don’t detest.
He wrote: “In its desperate hunger for victory at any cost, the Republican Party is on the verge of choosing a presidential candidate, John McCain, who is widely regarded (everywhere except inside the Republican Party itself) as honest, courageous, likable and intelligent. Have they no shame?â€
Not only did Barack Obama win his ninth and tenth consecutive state caucus or primary yesterday — winning Wisconsin with 58 percent of the vote and Hawaii with about 75 percent — he also continues to cut into Hillary Clinton’s base. Obama evenly split the white women vote with Clinton in Wisconsin, and he had significant support among blue-collar voters. That doesn’t bode well for Clinton’s chances of winning Texas and Ohio by the landslide margins necessary to overtake Obama’s delegate lead.
